Ferguson Activist: We’re Telling People To Shop at Black-Owned Businesses on Black Friday

Friday on MSNBC, Ferguson activist John Gaskin called for blacks to only shop at black-owned business in protest of the grand jury decision to not indict Ferguson Police Officer Darren Wilson for fatally shooting Michael Brown.

Gaskin said, “What many people don’t know is community leaders are encouraging people to shop and support black businesses today. So rather than going to the chain stores and to major businesses like Walmart, who we’re well aware of in terms of their employee practices, to not shop at places like that today. The black spending power in the United States is $1 trillion and from what I’ve heard and from what I’ve seen today with my own eyes, it appears that the impact will be significant, especially here in the St. Louis area as many African-American leaders have expressed to their congregations and to their communities to stay home today on Black Friday or go and support black businesses. I think that will send a message to the community that many people are upset. And it’s not just African-Americans that are participating in the boycott today and staying home on Black Friday. I’ve spoken with many whites that are, you know, obviously sending a message with their dollars today by not shopping today.”